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Monday, May 31, 2010

Favorite Episodes: 7th Heaven

by Amy K. Bredemeyer
7th Heaven ran for a long time before I even knew it existed. I started catching reruns during the summer of 2003 or so, after it had already been on the air for a good seven years. I instantly fell in love with the characters, and the show skyrocketed to the top of my book for its remaining three (which became four) seasons. While it is marketed as a family drama, the show focused on outside characters more often than not. Yes, there were plenty of storylines dealing with the kids, but there was almost always an ancillary character who needed the help of the family, or who was causing the mischief that the others were getting into. Although I was overjoyed when it got surprise-renewed for the eleventh season, the craziness of the plots at that point made me kinda wish that we ended it at the end of the tenth. Of all the characters that came and went on the show, I think Peter was my very favorite, even if I didn't care for either of his parents, haha. Anyway, let's get going on favorite episodes... sorry there aren't more video clips!!

Season 1: "With a Little Help from my Friends" (S01E12). Mrs. Bink keeps calling Matt and asking for help with household tasks. He agrees to keep it a secret from his parents, but once she calls the school with a family emergency, things get out of control. Meanwhile, Eric is trying to help a family that lives in their van, but they insist they are okay. In the end, the family moves in with Mrs. Bink, who watches the daughter while the father helps around the house, etc. Lucy thinks that nobody cares about her thirteenth birthday, but she ends up with an awesome surprise party, despite hurting feelings in the process. Clip from TV.com.

Season 2: "See You in September" (S02E01). It's the first day of school, and each of the Camden kids manages to get into trouble right off the bat. Matt borrowed Eric's jacket, but when the pager goes off, he's in trouble. Mary gives Lucy an aspirin, but of course the passage of drugs from one student to another sets off a red flag. Simon gets in trouble when Annie puts a knife in his lunchbox. Ruthie, in a strange moment, is getting the naughty finger when part of her outfit could be deemed to be a gang tag. Meanwhile, Eric is unavailable because he's busy trying to talk down a kid from jumping off a building, all because his mom bought him the wrong jeans to wear to school. No video available.

Season 3: "And a Nice Chianti" (S03E05). Mary finally has her learner's permit, but nobody in the family really wants to drive with her. Lucy and Simon would rather ride the school bus (which they dread anyway), and Ruthie takes to wearing a helmet and pads when she's in the car with Mary behind the wheel. Matt pulls over to help a pregnant girl with car trouble, but she steals his car, and when the police arrive, they suspect he stole the car at the site. Eric works on trying to help a woman from the church find the people who received the organs that her dead son donated three years ago, and that has a really cute ending. No video available.

Season 4: "Come Drive with Me" (S04E04). Annie and Lucy are putting in a bathroom in the attic, while Eric and Ruthie shop for a new car. Mary is upset that she isn't good at helping with the remodel, and the deacons at the church don't want to give Eric a raise after they see Eric and Ruthie test-driving a convertible. They end up with an electric van, but Ruthie breaks the rules when she heads into the deacons meeting to give them the rundown on what's going on at home. Lastly, Matt meets a special needs child at the hospital and realizes that he wants to go into medicine as a career. No video available.

Season 5: "Losers" (S05E03). Mary, on her umpteenth job, meets some new friends, who are teenage parents. However, they also smoke pot and drink underage, and encourage her to drink with them. Lucy has to watch the twins at home on the weekend while also taking care of an "egg" with her partner from home ec. Matt is supposed to give Simon a ride for his date with an older girl, but he gets distracted following a girl of his own. Ruthie waits for Mary to come home so they can have a private pizza party, but Mary's out partying with Frankie and Johnny instead. No video available.

Season 6: "Drunk" (S06E13). Simon goes to a party with some older kids, and winds up drunk. Matt, Mary, Lucy, and Ruthie argue over whether to cover for him or tell on him, and end up scheming to keep Simon out of their parents' sight while sobering him up. Their plan goes awry when one of Simon's friends comes to the house to tell Eric and Annie the truth. Meanwhile, Matt receives letters from two medical school and is terrified to open them. Plus, Mary and Lucy are taking some of the same classes at the local college, and Mary tags along with Lucy and her friends at a bar. Someone has put together just the parts with Simon in them, so here's a couple of links to those. Clip 1 | Clip 2 | Clip 3

Season 7: "Stand Up" (S07E16). Lucy confesses that she's always wanted her father to officiate at her wedding. This leads Eric to have to seriously consider coming back to the church. Simon finds out that Cecilia's father's business manager is stealing money, and the guy tries to pay off Simon. When he tries to tell on the guy, the guy turns on him, and it becomes a big problem that Cecilia's father won't believe Simon. Since Chandler is serious about Roxanne, Roxanne's father (also a police officer) starts making his life miserable. Annie starts planning Lucy's wedding without her, and Lucy starts getting really upset. Lastly, Ruthie and Peter try to help Ben get a girlfriend, but end up losing his police dog. No video available.

Season 8: "Simon's Home Video (Simon Camden)" (S08E05). This is my very favorite episode in the whole series. It's my sister's favorite, too. Simon makes a video detailing his life and why he should be granted early admittance into college. It's a great reflective on many of the past storylines, and really shows each of the characters' true personalities. It's really cute.Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7

Season 9: "Paper or Plastic?" (S09E12). Lucy's been on bedrest and is upset that she hasn't done all of the shopping for her baby. Matt agrees to take her shopping in secret (although it's not really a secret to the rest of the family), and Annie throws her a baby shower. But, Lucy goes into labor in the store's elevator, while Robbie and Mac are shopping for gifts for Lucy. Meanwhile, Kevin buys a house without Lucy's approval, and Ruthie gives him the lowdown on how that's not gonna fly. All I could find was a short clip (less than 5 min) of when she has the baby.

Season 10: "And Thank You" (S10E22). It's Simon and Rose's wedding, but Rose's ex-boyfriend shows up unexpectedly and both the bride and groom are having second thoughts. Matt and Sarah (and Carlos for that matter) arrive from New York for the wedding, and both Sarah and Mary are expecting twins. Lucy is also expecting twins, but that's about it for the happiness. Simon and Rose decide not to go through with the wedding, and Ruthie, with the help of Lucy and Kevin, decides to spend a semester in Scotland. No video available, aside from the opening and closing credits, LoL.

Season 11: "Tit for Tat" (S11E15). Sandy starts falling for a handsome doctor, and it's throwing Martin in loops. It's also Valentine's Day, and Ruthie and T-Bone decide to get tattoos to symbolize their love for one another. Kevin & Lucy skip town when they get wind that the Colonel and Ruth are coming, and they come back just in time to see them before they head out again. Eric is freaking out that his parents know about his health/heart problems. No video available.